Review: Sig 556R - Not what I expected

[MilitaryArms]

YouTube - Review: Sig 556R 7.62x39 rifle

 

[rockhopper46038]

Very informative. It's a shame that the 556 seems to be sub-par compared to not only their own line of steel pistols, but also competitors rifles. I love my P228's and my X-Five; maybe it's true that you have to get a SIG out of Germany to get their best stuff. That would be tremendously disappointing...

 

[Tombs]

Handled a ton at the 1500 today...

They were all sloppy. It wouldn't be enough to turn me off of wanting one, I'm still interested in it.

From the video, I'd file the firing pin to a sharper point. I mean, how can it fail to fire unless it's weak hitting or not hitting centered?

 

[jd4320t]

Great review as always. Come on Sig...get it together.

 

[MilitaryArms]

Handled a ton at the 1500 today...

They were all sloppy. It wouldn't be enough to turn me off of wanting one, I'm still interested in it.

From the video, I'd file the firing pin to a sharper point. I mean, how can it fail to fire unless it's weak hitting or not hitting centered?

It gave the primer a good whack, but just not good enough. If I were using domestic commercially primed ammo (vs. Wolf military grade primers) they would have likely ignited.

The problem isn't with the shape of the firing pin, it's most likely due to Sig having used the same hammer and hammer spring as they used in the 5.56mm rifles. All 7.62x39 conversions I've seen had heavier springs at least.

Also, this wouldn't remedy the other functional issues I was having. The rifle would fail to feed and would occasionally throw a spent casing back into the chamber causing a malfunction. As you can see in the video, the ejection is erratic and some cases would just barely make it out of the ejection port and others would be thrown far forward like an AK.

The rifle literally suffers from every functional problem you could have with a rifle. Light primer strikes, double feeds, failures to chamber, failures to extract, and failures to eject. I had at least two of each in about 200 rounds. You can see in my video that when I pull the bolt to the rear to clear a soft primer strike, the rifle fails to eject the casing. It wouldn't grab the case and pop it out, it would drop it on top of the magazine... it would just fall off the bolt face like it had no extractor.

 

[Clay]

Sounds like a malfunction training rifle to me!

 

[MilitaryArms]

Sounds like a malfunction training rifle to me!

It sounds like a $1100 boat anchor... I just needed a boat. Although the stock is so flimsy that I would have to drill a hole through the receiver to attach the anchor rope.

 

[MilitaryArms]

This post is from the staff on the M4Carbine forums. This jives when what I've heard elsewhere on the 'net.

M4Carbine.net Forums - View Single Post - Review: Sig 556R - Not what I expected

 

[Clay]

It sounds like a $1100 boat anchor... I just needed a boat. Although the stock is so flimsy that I would have to drill a hold through the receiver to attach the anchor rope.

doh, I hate to laugh, cause I wanted one...... but lol!

 

[MilitaryArms]

doh, I hate to laugh, cause I wanted one...... but lol!

I have to laugh... otherwise I would cry. I really wanted this rifle. I want a 7.62x39 rifle that's modern and also accepts AK mags.

I've considered the only other option, the PTR-32 but the HK90x series isn't real high on my "favorites" list. They're kind of crude and I unloaded all of mine years ago. The Sig shot very smoothly, when it worked. Compared to the AK in the video, the recoil was very mild... not that AK's kick a bunch or anything.

So now my only option is the XCR that uses questionable mags and I have to buy a bunch of them... or wait on the ACR which will also use the same questionable AR style 7.62x39 mags as the XCR.

Total downer...

 

[Fenway]

Ouch..... Thanks for the review!

 

[03A3]

That's disappointing, but not a suprise outcome either. Sig can't/won't get it together and put out a better rifle.
It's hard to imagine how they could mess up what is to an extent, basically an AK47.
I have a 556 that so far functions fine. It has the same butt stock, but has the railed forearm.
The sights are a bad joke (diopter) and to get the correct windage I had to crank the rear sight fully one direction, and the front sight fully the opposite direction, making it obvious that the rail is badly misalined.
I won't latch the butt stock in the folded position because, as you have found, the latch is sure to fail.
I think I will either install a RDS or get rid of it. I've been pondering this for a while and leaning heavily towards the latter.

Added :
In order to get the elevation "close", I have the diopter raised as far as possible and it still shoots low. I've been told that the diopter is not compatible with the current front sights and that seems to be the case. If I want to get it zero'd correctly I will have to shorten the front sight post.
Aurora makes nice sights ($$) but with the rail misalinement there's no point in going that route.
I've been told that the popsickle rear sight is compatible with the front sight but haven't tried it yet. It is pretty flimsy.

 

[MilitaryArms]

Here's some additional video showing the other malfunctions I had with the 556R.

YouTube - Sig 556R Malfunctions

 

[turnandshoot4]

Very informative. It's a shame that the 556 seems to be sub-par compared to not only their own line of steel pistols, but also competitors rifles. I love my P228's and my X-Five; maybe it's true that you have to get a SIG out of Germany to get their best stuff. That would be tremendously disappointing...

This! I love the German Sigs, not the American versions. Sad really. I don't like anything that this country produces.

 

[Clay]

I don't like anything that this country produces.

thats a pretty broad statement

 

[MilitaryArms]

I have no problem with US made products, in most cases I prefer them. Sig's problems aren't related to the fact it's Americans assembling them, I attribute their problems to bean counters, cost cutting, and outsourcing. All the poor quality parts on the rifle are made by outsourced vendors. Rumor has it that things like the cheap stocks and the cheap red dot sights are Chinese made.

 

[alan robert]

If Sig is using the standard 5.56 hammer/trigger spring and firing pin to save money in the Sig 556 Russian, that could be the problem. Standard American brass 7.62x39 ammo with softer primers is not the challenge. The cheaper steel case hard primer 7.62x39 ammo could cause some reliable firing problems.

Look at the AK 7.62x39 gas system, bolt group, and recoil spring. For a rifle to be "totally" successful with the different 7.62x39 ammo offerings (brass,steel, domestic, foreign, commericial, and military), these areas need to reflect those tough and strong original specs from the AK platform.

Experience with 7.62x39 ARs have shown difficulty with firing hard primer ammo. There had been some bolt breakage initially, after longer use. Standard firing pins didn't penetrate deep enough and some triggers were too light for the hard primers. There has been a few problems with the gas port size also.

These areas have addressed by the use a of stronger trigger spring, bolt, extractor, and recoil/buffer spring use.

Either a bolt modified to allow the standard pin to go further (AR Performance, MGI) or a longer firing pin tip (Model 1 Sales) seemed to work with the tougher primers on the steel cased ammo.

Does the Sig 556 Russian have any gas settings to adjust? Some of the steel cased ammo is a little weaker, depending on the brand. Did you try a different magazine? I know, Mr. Obvious here. lol

The Sig 556 Russian has merit, but needs some love in quality control and upgrading maybe a little more for the 7.62x39 round? The Sig 556 Russian reminds me of the old East German army Weiger STG 940 (5.45x39) or Interarms Ordnance STG-2000-C (7.62x39) rifles.

Good job on the video and thanks for the heads up.

 

[redpitbull44]

Meh, oh well, just stick with an upgraded VZ 2008. Put the B&T rail on it, FAB pistol grip, Neit stock adapter (if you don't like the factory folding stock) and an M4 style tube and stock, and still be in it cheaper, with a last round bolt hold open.

I will never own another Sig. After the headaches that the P250 gave me. Their quality control has gone to hell.

 

[MilitaryArms]

This was posted by a user of my Facebook page:

"I got the 556R with the intent of using the steel cased ammo. I took the rifle out today and it shot fine until I got to the wolf ammo. I called Sig and talked to Josh in customer service, he informed me that Sig will void the warranty if steel cased ammo is used and that it will not work in the rifle. Only brass and non-corrosive ammo is to be used in the rifle. i will be selling the rifle due to the fact that I have several cases of the steel ammo and that Sig did not put a disclaimer on the web. Josh made the statement " Its in the owner manual but not on the web" So if you are thinking of buying the Sig 556R you can only use brass ammo."

Another user on the sigarms556.com forums confirmed that customer service agents at Sig are now telling folks this on the phone, this time the caller spoke to a service rep named Scott:

SIG 556 • View topic - WARNING!!! DO NOT BUY 556R

OTOH as I was typing this I was on the phone with Sig and spoke with "Scott," and I asked him about this and was told it IS TRUE -- not supposed to be used with steel cased ammo!!

Not good considering steel cased ammo is the defacto standard in 7.62x39 and most people will shoot it. The corrosive brass cased Yugo ammo won't last forever.

 

[turnandshoot4]

thats a pretty broad statement

I ment that I don't like anything that Sig produces in this country. Sorry bout that.